Several dental hygienists wanting to leave clinical practice have been asking me about a transitional resume and how it differs from a regular resume. Much of the categories of content remain the same, such as work history, education history, and summary section to name only a few.

The difference is in the language you use – the content.

Reverse Engineer It

In essence, when I create a transitional resume for a client I start with who they are right now. If, for example, they are in a clinical setting, I visualize them interacting with patients and performing traditional clinical duties.

Then I try to visualize who they want to be. If they want to be a sales rep, I picture them in this new setting interacting on sales calls, building relationships, discussing the features of their product, responding to concerns, and so on.

Then I work backward to reverse-engineer that transition. What will make that possible? What is it about this particular client that an employer looking for a sales rep is going to like or want?

Leverage Your Experience

Once I have that in my head, I begin writing and leveraging. Leveraging that which they have done as a clinician that can be re-positioned and re-framed for this new type of job.

Obviously, if haven’t worked as a sales rep, you can’t say you have. But you can sell employers on the attributes of a good sales rep. And there are lots of them, some of them are soft skills and attributes, and others are more technical. And some may come from other experiences of my your career. Could be volunteer work, could be independent sales rep experience, or even some work you did in a completely different industry.

So it’s really important to put lots of thought into your resume. Do as I do and reverse-engineer it so that you are thinking about it from an employer’s perspective. What is it that they want in a sales rep and what do you have that might each match or complement it.

Branding and Positioning

I’ve talked about it many times in the past, but it comes down to branding or positioning yourself within the job market. Don’t just think that if you create an average resume that touches on everything that you will appeal to everyone. When you try to make yourself popular with everyone, it’s really hard to make a case for being a perfect fit for the job.

Dive in to what it is the employer wants and talk to them (through your transitional resume) about how you meet those needs.

When you can pack a higher level of thinking into your resume – getting to know each word and sentence as though they were a close friend and introducing your “word friends” to an amazing design scheme and flow – you will have the makings of a great transitional resume that will get your more interviews and, hence, more job offers.

If you live in an area where dental hygiene job openings are infrequent, consider conducting a proactive job search. Instead of waiting for jobs to open and get announced, go on the offensive.

The truth is if you are only responding to job opening announcements on job boards you are only getting about 25-30% of what’s really out that. That’s because, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, most jobs aren’t posted.

Most jobs are filled by way of networking. Yep, more than sometimes, it’s who you know. But there are also other ways, too, so let’s review how you can go on a proactive job search.

Postcards

I have written and lectured about the value of sending out postcards so much, I am guessing I don’t need to go into the details here. But keep it in mind as a key part of your proactive strategy. Simply put, they work. I don’t know of a single client they haven’t helped in some way, and usually profoundly through job offers and lots of temp work.

Networking

Sure, networking has always been the most important proactive job search tool in your arsenal. But are you doing it? I find that most hygienists are a little shy or feel it takes too much time. And some simply don’t know where to start.

Those shouldn’t be concerns because networking can be done both in-person and over the Internet. This removes some of those common barriers.

Along with your local meetings, study groups and component gatherings, consider meeting peers virtually. I’ll give you three or four suggestions here

Finally, nearly every state has a Facebook group page called “(state name) Dental Hygienists Talk.” And there are dozens of others that are both national and localized you can find. There are no shortages of group pages to network on.

With all networking, seek first to help and serve others and they will seek to return the favor to you – that’s the big secret to successful networking.

Drop-Ins

One traditional way some hygienists perform a proactive job search is dropping off resumes at offices. This can take lots of extra time but if you just take a day and knock them all out it can be very effective.

The downside is that most employers will file and forget your resume. Instead, consider leaving them with a postcard or business card. Those tend to get posted on bulletin boards or put in top drawers.

You could even consider a more creative leave-behind, such as a sticky pad with your name and phone number on it or some treats. The key is that you leave something memorable or useful.

But the biggest reason drop-in visits are effective is the opportunity you have to connect interpersonally. They get the chance to meet and see your likeable personality. That’s important because they can’t get it from a traditional paper resume, and it puts you one step closer to creating a connection of trust with them.

E-mail

Okay, no one loves spam, but you can take the “spammy-ness” out of a simple, custom e-mail you send to an office by letting them know you are available for work as a sub. It’s really not much different than sending a postcard, except that it costs you less. The downside is it’s much more difficult to gather working e-mail addresses than it is mailing addresses so creating a list is harder, but still worth pursuing.

And the extra cool thing is you can add some curiosity factor (mentioned above) by including a link to your website or LinkedIn page. That will drive some of them to your website and get you an additional opportunity to impress them.

A final note

Don’t feel bound by these ideas – there are so many great things you can do to pro-actively market yourself digitally and in-person. It’s primarily through networking and these pro-active methods that people find work these days – in fact, the Department of Labor suggests that approximately 75% of all job openings go un-advertised.

So, don’t spend your entire job search energy on job boards – you can’t ignore them, they have an important place and lots of people find work this way – there are so many more things you can and should do to land a great dental hygiene job.

Dealing with age discrimination or ageism in dental hygiene is real – in fact, unfortunately, it’s real in every profession.

Ironically, as a coach, I hear about it on both ends. New hygienists feel they don’t get a fair shake because they don’t have much or any professional experience. And veteran hygienists feel they don’t get the green light because they are too experienced.

Interestingly, occurrences of age discrimination are only recognized by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in people over the age of 40. In other words, an employer can legally use age as a reason to hire a job seeker that is older than another job seeker, even if both are over the age of 40. Sorry new grads!

Age discrimination, however, can include other situations besides hiring, such as firing, compensation, job assignments, promotions, layoffs, trainings, fringe benefits, and any other term or condition of employment.

But today I will be sticking with hiring or job seeking situations only. Because there are things you can do to deal with ageism in dental hygiene hiring situations. But rather than tell you to do this or do that, I’ll just share some things to consider and you can decide what steps make the most sense for you.

Proving and Reporting It

Please first understand that ageism, like other forms of discrimination, can be extremely hard or impossible to prove. Sure, when someone says or writes about it openly, they should be reported. If you have evidence of ageism in dental hygiene, report it to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

However, many employers keep their thoughts and biases inward, and then proceed to openly base their decision on other superficial factors. And, I believe, there’s a separate category I call “subtle ageism” that I will talk more about below.

Blessing in Disguise

I am all for transparency and forcing people to hire fairly – no question about that. And, hopefully, karma or the legal system will catch up to employers who discriminate in any form. But beyond that, would you ever want to work for someone who discriminates based on the year you were born? If you sense someone discriminated against you based on age, consider it a blessing in disguise.

It’s a proven fact that people who discriminate in one way are often guilty of discriminating in other ways. The problem isn’t your age, the problem is that particular employer’s judgment, wisdom, and even common sense. They put superficial things ahead of ethics, and more meaningful objectives and goals.

Think about that. They put things that don’t matter ahead of things that do matter – even ahead of business prosperity. Is that the kind of employer you want to represent and refer patients you have built a relationship of trust to?

Subtle Ageism

Now, let me touch on what I would characterize as “subtle ageism.” I believe this strikes at a much larger sub-section of employers. I believe most employers do care more about prosperity over discrimination. I believe most employers will hire someone who is experienced or in-experienced, and base it on who they feel is going to help prosper their practice.

Subtle ageism, to me, is the kind where an employer will unwittingly or subconsciously base hiring decisions on assumptions or stereotypes tied to age.

For example, they may really like the personality and skill set of a specific new graduate, but because they are young and inexperienced ASSUME they will not stay long-term with the practice. Another example: the employer may really like how skilled and friendly the hygienist with 30 years of experience, but because they are older, ASSUME they will demand a higher wage.

And thus, a more subtle form of ageism is born. And, this, I believe, is far more common than the more blatant form discussed earlier.

How to Deal with Subtle Ageism in Dental Hygiene

So what can you do? You want to get a fair shake before the stereotypes and assumptions are made, right?

Again, I won’t tell you things you should do, but think about busting the myths in your own way. Because, honestly, there are lots of ways you can influence an employer’s thinking about your ability to fit in and be the perfect hygienist.

Evaluate Your E-mail Address

I admit I have an e-mail address I use that hints at my age (dougperry88@gmail.com). No, I am not 88 years old (ha!)! But I couldn’t get dougperry@gmail.com at the time, so I added the year I graduated from high school. Oops! I just dated myself!

People do this, but if I’m worried about ageism in dental hygiene I would choose something else to give employers. End speculation by leaving numbers out. If you can’t get yourname@gmail.com then choose something that conveys a spirit of optimism or professionalism. For example, healthygums@gmail.com or cindyRDH@gmail.com.

Your Work History

There’s no rule or requirement in resume writing for including an entire work history. In fact, it would be less favorable to include jobs that are irrelevant to dental hygiene. Consider leaving a few early-career jobs off – especially temp jobs when you are a 20 or 30-year veteran. All that matters is what you have done lately (last 10-20 years is plenty).

Leave High School in the Past

A lot of younger hygienists tend to include high school graduation in their education history. It takes up space and doesn’t mean much, no offense to those awesome years of your youth!

A second tip for new graduates is to add that first temp job to your resume as fast as you can. Your objective would be to put as much space between your professional life and school life as you possibly can when you first start out.

Postcards are a great equalizer for everyone – you don’t have to indicate anywhere on them your years of experience (unless you want to). So a new grad can show the confidence of a veteran, and a veteran can exude the tech-savvy perceived image of new grads.

The College Years

Unlike your work experience, I believe (as do others) it’s okay to leave graduation years off your resume. Degrees and licensure matter more. The year you completed that first degree can be something used to calculate your age. Leave it on if you like, but leave it off if you are concerned about ageism in dental hygiene hiring situations.

Photos

Pictures can do a lot to show or hide your age. If you choose to include a picture on your resume, my best advice is to hire it out. Dress in interview-ready attire or a lab coat, and try to get several different poses to choose from. Tell the photographer the look you want – fun, serious, professional, experienced, or whatever you feel best exemplifies your brand. Good photographers will know how to help you achieve that.

Hobbies

I always suggest leaving hobbies off your resume, mostly because they do nothing to tell an employer about how great a hygienist you are. However, if you are concerned about your age being a problem for someone and you are actually quite active (exercise and such), then that’s something you could consider adding to counter a false assumption that you are older and slower. Again, I don’t generally recommend including hobbies, but this is one possible exception to consider.

Technology

Technology is another area where younger people have an advantage because of the assumption that older hygienists grew up without computers. If you are older, you want to dispel that belief by communicating that you are tech-savvy and know your way around Dentrix, DEXIS, intraoral cameras, and other high-tech tools of the trade. List everything technical you can think of to get that point across.

It’s often assumed younger generations are glued to phones and posting things or taking pictures when they should be working. To combat that, don’t take your phone to your interview (don’t even let them see it while you are waiting). If given the chance, address the issue head-on about how you are productive with your time or something related.

Resume and Cover Letter Language

Finally, and most important of all, when I coach dental hygiene job seekers who are concerned about ageism in dental hygiene, I say “play to your strengths.” Don’t look at what you lack and fear it will keep you from finding a job, look at what you have as the key ingredient or value employers need to make their practice prosper. However, you have to be assertive in bringing those strengths to the forefront.

If you are young, use your resume and cover letter to communicate your enthusiasm and flexibility to learn how that office practices dentistry. Experienced hygienists might use them to communicate maturity and ability to effortlessly-influence patient compliance.

Whatever your unique advantages are, play to those strengths. Own them. Don’t ever let an employer walk away from your resume or interview not knowing your core strengths. That means repeating them over and over in different ways. Show them what YOU mean to THEM, and you will have fewer issues with ageism in dental hygiene hiring.

Bonus

Certain movie scenes inspire me. So this week I want to share one of the most inspiring to me. And I think it plays into this topic of ageism a bit. It’s a scene from Rocky Balboa – the sixth and final movie of the Rocky series. Watch here as a much-older-Rocky tries to teach his son about never giving up. He’s a bit harsh – but he absolutely nails it!

Dental hygiene job interviews are filled with questions from the employer. But, YOU also have questions to ask at a job interview. The job needs to be a good fit for YOU as much as you are a good fit for it.

Today I share some key questions to ask at a job interview that will educate you about the job, but also help you get an offer. Employers like candidates who show a genuine interest in the office and making a difference. And these questions to ask at a job interview can help show how you are a great fit.

Salary and Benefits

You will notice that I did not include salary and benefits as questions to ask at a job interview. Yes, these are important questions. But employers will sometimes give you that voluntarily without you asking. Avoid giving an employer the impression this is all you care about. Many will think it’s refreshing to have a candidate that seems more interested in the job. You can still talk salary and benefits, but do it AFTER the questions below if the employer hasn’t already brought it up.

Q. Tell me about your ideal dental hygienist?

Why ask: There are two reasons to ask this question. First, it gives you some insight as to expectations and the type of hygienist they want. But it also gives you a chance to hear what they need and align your skillset with that need.

Q. Aside from revenue, what value does a hygienist bring to your practice?

Why ask: This can give an idea of how important hygiene is to the practice. Is the hygienist considered a valuable partner in the patient care process? What role does the hygienist play to that particular employer?

Q. What were some strengths the previous hygienist had?

Why ask: Employers are looking for a hygienist who is either better or equal. So, it’s really helpful to know the prior hygienist’s strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes knowing what isn’t mentioned as a strength can be interpreted as a weakness. But this question will also give you a chance to marry your abilities with their needs.

Q. How would you describe the office culture?

Why ask: Every office has a culture. The interviewer, in this situation, is probably going to stay positive. So, instead of focusing on their words, watch their body language and other cues. Did they suddenly seem a little bit uncomfortable or “off” compared to previous topics? Watch for things like longer pauses as they consider the right words or some shifting in their chair.

Those could be signals there has been some internal strife or things the employer wants to correct. It’s a red flag but not always a deal killer.

Q. Beyond the job description, how can I make a valuable contribution to the practice?

Why ask: This is another way to get the employer to articulate what they really want in a hygienist. They will likely include things about patient care being a priority and their mission. Again, take their response and blend it with your skillset to create a match.

Q. What’s the biggest challenge to hiring a new hygienist and the key to making it successful?

Why ask: Employers hate transition stages – they are costly to the business. They want an employee who can jump into the flow and make an immediate impact. They know it’s rare but it’s what they want. If this is you, and you get that kind of a response, then communicate that. Come prepared with an example of where you were new to something but caught on quickly.

Q. What is your vision for the practice in 3-5 years?

Why ask: This is important because some may not really have a vision and it will show when you ask. Again, watch the body language they give off. And see if their response is overly vague or doesn’t match your ideals. Along with what you learn, the fact that you asked it gives them a sense that you plan to stick around. And that’s something all employers want – especially hygienists who often win lots of patient loyalty.

Final Thought About Questions to Ask at a Job Interview

The best way to show an employer you are serious, interested, and engaged is to guide them into a discussion. Too often, job interviews turn into a one-way exchange – they ask the question, you answer.

To win an employer over so that they believe you are a good fit draw them into discussions (back and forth exchanges). Work to get the employer to open up with you and share oral health philosophies they have or to speak candidly (warts and all) about their office. This will give both of you the insight you need to move forward or move on.

Bonus Video

Career Coach Aimee Bateman gives some additional good advice about job interview questions.

“I got fired” is something no dental hygienist hopes to ever have to say. But for those of you who have, there is hope to rebound and still have a great career.

Employers have that ability to pull the trigger and while some have legitimate concerns over performance, others don’t. And I’ve heard plenty of stories of hygienists fired for less-than-legitimate reasons. I won’t get into employer ethics and legalities today.

Instead, let’s talk about where to go from there so you can remain employable.

Got-Fired Label

That two-word phrase “got fired” is packed with emotion and negative thoughts. Next comes judgments centered on assigning blame. That might be therapeutic but it doesn’t change anything.

Tell an employer, “I got fired,” and they may or may not take your side. But either way, it will raise some suspicion. And whether justified or not, it will be harder for you to shake that label.

Synonyms such as “dismissed or “let go” carry the same meaning, but not as much negative punch. Use them in place of “fired.”

Consider Keeping it Private

Which brings me into the second point. You don’t always have to acknowledge your dismissal. In fact, if you don’t need that information on your resume then leave it off.

There’s no crime or violation of ethics for omitting information on a resume. Resumes are marketing documents, designed to showcase your relevant successes. Some dental hygienists leave off certain parts of their work history to save space or remain relevant. We also don’t disclose all kinds of personal information on a resume.

The only concern is where this might potentially leave a gaping hole in your work history. Sometimes this is easily hidden if you work in multiple offices. Or, you could consider not disclosing the name of the office, by listing it as a “General Practice,” for example.

Be Honest

Next, identify the cause and be honest about it. Own it if you fully deserved it, but add an extension.

When you feel compelled to share a dismissal, don’t end it there. You always want the incident, and why it happened, to become the lesser part of the explanation.

The bigger part of the explanation should be focused on where you went from there. What did you do to change or improve? What adjustments did you spot and then address? Talk about actions you took and results they produced. That comes across as much more responsible and impressive.

Wrongly Fired

Was your situation unfair? Distance yourself from the situation. Strip yourself of the emotion to help the employer see you are wanting to treat it with fairness.

I would even go so far as to mention something you liked about your former employer. For example, “I really enjoyed the way they handled new patients and they were generally kind to me – we just had a difference of opinion about how much time each patient needed.”

The point is to take the high road and never bad-mouth a former employer. It won’t land you the job – even if you are 100 percent correct.

Leveraging References and Testimonials

Finally, use written references and testimonials from that job to demonstrate you were a great employee. Sometimes employers who feel a little bit guilty about the situation will offer to write a letter of reference. Take them up on it, even if you feel bitter. This can help smooth over the gap in your employment history.

Summary

If you got fired in the past, or recently, it’s not the end of the world. You can bounce back, but avoid using the harsh label; consider not disclosing the information; be honest and make adjustments where necessary; take the high road; and leverage information that demonstrates you are a great employee.

One final thing. How many of you have heard of Heather Dorniden? She was a college track athlete for University of Minnesota. In 2008, during the Big 10 Indoor Track Championships, 600 Meter race, Heather took a nasty fall. But you won’t believe what she did next – you see, her fall should have been the end of the race for her, but it wasn’t. Watch this…

How dental hygienist Tracie Perry was able to land a great dental hygiene job in about 30 days...
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